Don’t Lick the Knife That Spreads Your Butter

Seriously. It will just stroke its ego.
Sure, you might be reading this and say ‘knives don’t have egos.’ And you’d be right. But in this space, the knife is Mike James, and the butter is the basketball.

Too many times James has single-handedly brought the Raptors back into ball games. But when you pat him on the back (or lick the knife), you’re telling him ‘good job, keep doing what you’re doing.’

I was watching last night’s game against the Knicks, and all throughout the second half, I saw James try to force the issue; playing one-on-one ball around the perimeter, trying to sneak into the paint for an easy lay-up. Sometimes it worked, most of the time it just wound down the shot-clock, forcing an attempt of desperation – whether it come from him, or whether he bestowed the responsibility of saving the day to someone else.

From these eyes, it appeared that the Raptors went away from what was working in the 1st, and some of the 2nd, quarter: distributing the ball to get open looks.

James had 5 assists in the opening frame, but finished with 9… He had only 3 points in the 1st, but finished with 22. After 1 quarter of play, the Raptors were up 32-23.

But in the end…

Knicks 98, Raptors 96

I’m not saying Mike James’ scoring is to blame for this loss - the Raptors’ first in regulation this month – but when he goes into scoring-mode, things can get awfully ugly. Especially against a team as brutal as the Knicks. New York had lost their last 10.

Morris Peterson scored 19 points (all in the first half) and added 7 rebounds. Chris Bosh also had 7 boards to go with a game-high 25 points, but also committed 5 turnovers – as did Mr. James (to balance my argument, though, all of those turnovers were in the first half).

The Raps bit on way too many Jalen Rose pump-fakes (hadn’t they seen his moves before?), fouled the Knicks way too early and often (NY outscored Toronto 29-19 from the stripe), and that handcuffed them in the paint – where Eddy Curry had his way (7-10 shooting, for 18 points).

The Raptors head into the break at 20-33.

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Before the Knicks, there were Timberwolves. In Minnesota.
Kevin Garnett got way too much respect from the referees, and manhandled Bosh into his worst game in almost a year.
It looked like KG was getting a lot of slack from the refs, while Bosh would get whistled for the slightest contact. I guess that’s what being a 9-time all-star gets you.

The Raptors won their 3rd straight, regardless:

Raptors 98, T-Wolves 94

Garnett had 23 points and 19 rebounds, but Mike James nailed a game-sealing lay-up with 8 seconds left, and finished with 27 points. Mo Pete nailed all 4 of his 3-point attempts, and finished with 20, while Bosh had 8 points off 3-of-6 shooting.

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Sebastien Telfair apparently brought his girlfriend’s gun to Toronto, but that couldn’t protect him or the Blazers from getting blown away by the Raptors.

Raptors 114, Blazers 81

The 33-point margin of victory might have been the Raptors’ season-high, but it also happened to be the third straight 30+ point loss for Portland.

Mo Pete had 15 of his game-high 22 points in the 3rd, James chipped in with 19 points, while Bosh scored 14 off 7-of-9 shooting in just 28 minutes. Only two starters played 30+ minutes: James and Charlie Villanueva, who finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

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In Charlotte, the Raptors came out blazing on both ends of the floor. They doubled up the Bobcats, holding them to just 11 points. The Raps then fell asleep in the 2nd, allowing Charlotte to come back, and take the lead by half-time.

Mitchell obviously had some fiery words, because the Raptors opened the 2nd half with a 20-2 run, and cruised the rest of the way.

Raptors 87, Bobcats 73

While it was mostly bad shooting on Charlotte’s part, the Raptors held them to just 32% from the field. Toronto outscored the Cats 48-14 in the paint. Charlie V led the way with 24 points, while Bosh trudged through 6 turnovers to contribute 15 points and 10 boards. James had 18 points and 8 assists.

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The numbers don’t lie. Mike James is obviously an essential part of any Raptor success. I just think when the point-guard takes control of the game, a team can get into some serious troubles.

If your knife isn’t spreading the butter, chances are, you’ll have a big clump of the stuff all in one place.

And maybe it’s just me… but I don’t think that tastes very good.